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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. key — the most important part
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. chest — of your body
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. row — to paddle
  8. plane — a tool
  9. key — in music
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. kick — in football
  14. swing — music
  15. row — a line
  16. chest — a box
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — in golf
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. key — for a lock
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. toast — bread
  24. cabinet — ministers

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com